So, I Took Him
by sendmetosanfran
Summary: This is just my thoughts on how Dembe and Red grew so close.
1. Found

He had been left here to rot. Chains held his hands together behind his back and kept him in his spot in the middle of this room. It was virtually a cold cement prison. They had left an hour ago, but he wasn't done screaming and fighting for a way to get out.

He ran towards the end of his chain like a dog at the end of its leash causing the metal to bite into his wrist painfully. He yelled again in pain and anguish. His voice echoed around the room, giving him a feeling of solidarity. He kept pulling and pulling to the point his wrists bled and felt like they were broken.

Over a few days of being left alone, his arms were swollen and his voice was ragged and hoarse. His will to live was being broken down. Instead of fighting to get away, he sat on his knees and leaned forward to where a constant pull was on him.

He looked up when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He got to his feet and watched as a young man entered the room, keeping close to the wall with a revolver in his hands. The new man didn't notice him as he kept watch for someone. His face was bloody and scratched up. Then, his eyes fell on him. The hammer on the pistol was pulled back as the gun was aimed at the chained man.

"Who are you?" Asked the newcomer.

"... Dembe," the chained man answered after a moment of debating if he should really answer. The other glanced around for a moment. "Who are you?" He questioned, his voice was low and raspy.

"Is anyone else here?"

"I asked you a question."

"I'm the one with the gun. I ask the questions," he stated, getting a glare from Dembe, who sat back down. There was no point in him standing. All it did was put more weight on his arms and shoulders. "Now, is anyone else here?"

Dembe stayed quiet. He simply stared at the bloody man before turning away. The man's face twitched in annoyance. He moved quickly to Dembe, his feet hitting loudly on the floor. The echo was still reverberating when the man had his hand hooked into Dembe's shirt.

"When I ask a question, you answer me."

"Don't try that bullshit with me," Dembe growled causing the other man to furrow his brow. "You might hit me a few times, but it won't be anything I'm not used to."

"Who are you?" Asked the stranger, his eyes a little softer now. He let go of Dembe's shirt.

"I've already told you my name. Now tell me yours."

"... Reddington," he answered.

"Well, Reddington, there isn't anyone else here. They left me here."

"Why?"

"I was no longer of use to them." Dembe answered. Reddington stared and chewed on the inside of his jaw.

"How long have you been around crime?"

"Since I was little," Dembe answered. Red nodded in acknowledgement of his answer. He thought for a little longer before glancing at the chains that held Dembe down. Reddington grabbed the metal and pulled a piece of metal out of his pocket. "What are you doing?"

"I'm getting you out of here," he answered, picking the lock. The chains dropped to the floor, letting Dembe get up without the weight on his arms. He started to move away, but Reddington hooked his hand under his arm. "You're coming with me."

Author's note...

I'm not really sure if I should continue this or not. If people say that I should, I will.


	2. Discussion

"Where did you find him?" Naomi asked as she watched her husband rub disinfectant on Dembe's bruised and bloody wrists.

"He was chained up on the west side of town," Reddington responded before wrapping bandages around the teen's wounds. Naomi twisted her dark hair in her fingers as she thought. Why had Raymond thought it was a good idea to bring him here? Dembe rubbed one of his wrists before standing from his spot. Naomi flinched a little. He may have been young, but he was tall and looked strong.

"I should leave," Dembe stated giving a nod to Naomi to say good bye. He would have left if Reddington hadn't stepped in front of him.

"I don't think so," Raymond said, not noticing the exasperated look he got from Naomi. The potentially dangerous criminal was trying to leave. Why would you stop him? "As long you stay out there, you'll go back to crime. I want you to stay here and get your life on track," he added. Dembe furrowed his brow and looked down his nose at the shorter man.

"Shouldn't you discuss this with your wife?" Dembe questioned and figured that he had his answer when Reddington paled. He opened his mouth and closed it before looking to Naomi. Then, he looked at Dembe.

"Y-Yes, I do," he stammered and grabbed onto Naomi's wrist. "You can get something to eat while we discuss this," Reddington said before looking to his wife. "... Right, honey?"

"Oh, sure. Go ahead," she responded walking out with her husband. Dembe glanced around the kitchen before grabbing an apple and biting into it.

"Why did you think this was a good idea?" Dembe heard Naomi ask from another room.

"He just needs some guidance," Raymond responded.

"How do you know that? How do you know that he won't murder us in our sleep? How do you know that he won't hurt Jenifer?" She questioned

"I... I can't answer that."

"He just looks like he's so angry," Naomi commented. Dembe took another bite of the fruit while he thought. Of course, he was angry. That didn't mean he didn't have restraint.

"He's still a child. He needs someone," Reddington responded.

"Why should it be us?"

"I found him," Raymond stated. Dembe glanced down when he felt something pull on his shirt. A girl who couldn't have been more than five stared up at him with bright eyes.

"Who are you?" She asked. Dembe stared at her for a moment. This had to be Raymond and Naomi's child. There was no way that Naomi would feel comfortable with him talking to her daughter.

"Dembe," he answered when she wouldn't stop staring at him. He took a step away from her only to have her take a step towards him.

"That's a funny name,"

"That's not very nice," Dembe stated which caused the girl to give him an odd look.

"Why not? I like funny names. Mine's Jenifer, and I think that's a funny name," she responded. She continued to stare which made him feel uneasy.

"Do you like books? My daddy loves books," Jenifer said.

"... I don't know how to read," he admitted. The people who had taken him had never seen it fit to teach him.

"I can teach you," she said excitedly. Before he could respond, she had run out of the room. She came back just as quickly with a book in her hands. "This is my daddy's favorite book," she added, holding up a copy of 'Moby Dick'. She moved over to the table and pulled out two of the chairs with a little difficulty. Crawling into one, she sat the book on the table. Dembe sat next to her but kept a little distance between them.

"The first word is Moby, but I can't say the second word," Jenifer said before leaning in and whispering, "It's his name, but it's also a bad word."

Dembe gave a tiny smile at that. Then, she opened the book and pointed at a word. Dembe leaned in a little to see better.

"That word is 'call'. The letter are 'c-a-l-l'," Jenifer stated and moved over to the next word. "The next word is 'me'. It's spelled 'm-e'. Then, it says 'Ishmael'. I only remember how to say that because it's a really funny name."

Jenifer giggled causing Dembe to give another small smile. He wasn't used to seeing children. It was nice to see someone so innocent.

"What are you two doing?" Naomi asked from the doorway, getting both of their attention.

"I'm teaching him to read." Jenifer stated cheerily. Naomi gave him a quick glance.

"You'll have to do that later, honey. You need to go wash up before dinner." She said, making the young girl give a disappointed look. Raymond gave his wife and Dembe a quick glance before leading his daughter out of the room. Naomi turned to Dembe. "You can stay here, but there's a few things we need to sort out now," she stated and Dembe gave a nod for her to continue.

"My husband is an FBI Agent. So, if you steal anything, he'll be able to find you. You will not lay a hand on our daughter. And you will attend school while you stay here," Naomi explained.

"I don't think a school here will take me," Dembe said quietly. It wasn't a challenge to her. It was just a statement. From her expression, Dembe thought that she understood his meaning.

"Raymond will take care of it."

"How long am I allowed to stay?"

"As long as you need to," Naomi answered. "Now, go wash up for dinner," she added. He nodded and stood. She placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. She could feel the thick muscle of his arm through his shirt. "And Dembe,"

"Yes?"

"Thank you," Naomi stated causing him to furrow his brow.

"What for?"

"For getting Raymond to consider my opinion in this."

Author's note...

I wasn't sure what their daughter's name was. So, I just went with this. I'm going to try to keep everything as canon as possible but there are blanks that I'll have to fill in. Also, thanks to everyone who commented :)


	3. No one Is Completely Innocent

They made it through dinner alright. The only one who seemed willing to speak was Jenifer. Dembe thought that it was probably just because she wasn't used to having guests in the house. Of course, he wasn't really a guest. He was just there until he could get out and not end up dead.

The meal was over soon and the family split apart. Jenifer stayed with Naomi, much to the relief of her mother. Dembe ended up following Raymond out of the room and into a back room where bits of metal and parts littered the room. Raymond sat down in front of the table and started putting things together. Dembe found another seat and sat across from him.

"You look like something is on your mind," Raymond stated, keeping his gaze at what he was working on.

"I want to ask about your work," Dembe said, getting the man's full attention. Raymond gave a broad grin.

"You want to know about the navy?" Raymond asked getting an odd look from him.

"Navy? Ms. Naomi said you were in the FBI," Dembe responded causing his grin to fade. His gaze went back down to the parts in his hand.

"She was trying to scare you. She thought that you thought I was in the FBI that I could hunt you down if you stole something," Reddington said, sounding more than a little disappointed.

"So, you don't work for the FBI?" Dembe asked, making Raymond shake his head. Dembe furrowed his brow. "I have another question."

"What?"

"What were you doing in the west side of town?" He questioned and watched as the other man paused before going back to his work.

"It's not important."

"I want to know. Especially since you seemed ready to shoot someone," Dembe said. The left side of Reddington's face twitched. He glared up at the teen in warning.

"It's none of your business."

"I bet it's Ms. Naomi's business that you were sneaking around with a gun in your hand. Should I go tell her?" Dembe asked, causing Raymond's glare to narrow in challenge. He practically jumped the table when he saw Dembe stand up. His hand latched onto Dembe's bicep in a death grip.

"You wouldn't dare," Raymond growled.

"Do you really want to try me?" Dembe asked, watching Raymond's face as the gears seemed to turn in his head. It took a long moment before he spoke.

"Someone threatened my family," he answered quietly. "I had to do something."

"How did they threaten them?" Dembe questioned. After another long moment, Reddington moved over to a toolbox and opened it. He pulled out a letter and handed it to the teen. Dembe looked it over before handing it back.

"You should have left it alone," Dembe stated and saw the anger flare up in Reddington's eyes.

"THEY THR-," Raymond started to yell but stopped so the other two couldn't hear him. "They threatened Naomi and Jenifer. How was I supposed to leave that alone?"

"This was sent by a few low lives who would never be able to follow through. All you did was possibly piss off someone who could actually do something," Dembe explained. Reddington seemed to cool down before going back to the toolbox and putting the letter back inside.

"What am I supposed to do?" He asked with a grimace.

"Wait and see what happens. If something happens, I will help you," Dembe replied. Raymond gave him a disbelieving look. "I give you my word."


End file.
